Monday, November 2, 2009

The End...and A Beginning

Yesterday evening I got my very last pre-teen daughter hug. Today my daughter is 13. It is indeed a milestone. The child is in the rear view mirror and the teenager is hurtling at the windshield. Having been through it twice before, I'm fairly certain I'll be able to endure it again. Fairly certain. And just in case, I've stocked the liquor cabinet.

The birthday cake I've pictured here is not my daughter's. I've got to bake that today; I'm sure it will show up on the blog eventually. This one is her brother's cake that I made this summer. Since I've got to get her cake baked, I'll leave you with the recipe for this chocolate deliciousness, and a few of my favorite quotes about teenagers. And happy birthday, honey, I love you!

*Little children, headache; big children, heartache. ~Italian Proverb

*Adolescence is perhaps nature's way of preparing parents to welcome the empty nest. ~Karen Savage and Patricia Adams, The Good Stepmother

*Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers. ~William Galvin

*Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years. ~Author Unknown

*The troubles of adolescence eventually all go away - it's just like a really long, bad cold. ~Dawn Ruelas

1- Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9-inch round cake pans. (Make sure the cake pans have straight sides, so the layers stack evenly.) Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set the bowl aside.

3- Put the chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Add the hot water and espresso powder to the milk. Stir to combine, then pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mixture cool slightly.

4- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the three prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula or off-set spatula.

5- Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans on wire racks for 10 to 15 minutes. Unmold onto the racks; carefully peel off the paper and let cool completely, at least 1 hour. (If you need to bake a day ahead, at this point, wrap the layers well and refrigerate.)

6- To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a serving plate or cake stand. Cover the top evenly with half of the White Chocolate Mousse, leaving a 1/4-inch margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the remaining mousse. Set the third layer on top and pour half the Sour Cream Chocolate Icing over the filled cake. Spread it all over the sides and top. This is the crumb coat. Refrigerate uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the icing to set. Cover the remaining icing and set it aside at room temperature.

6- Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing, which should have the consistency of mayonnaise. If the icing is too soft, chill it briefly. If it's too stiff, microwave it for just 2 or 3 seconds to soften it, then mix well. Use the back of a spoon to make swirls in the frosting, if you like.

1- In a small metal bowl set over a pan of very hot water, melt the white chocolate with 1/4 cup of the cream. Whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and let the white chocolate cream cool to room temperature.

2- When it has cooled, beat the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form. In a clean bowl, whip the egg white with the sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.

3- Fold the beaten egg white into the white chocolate cream, then fold in the whipped cream just until blended. Err on the side of undermixing.

29 comments:

Happy birthday to your daughter! Mine is 7 months old today, I can only imagine what this milestone is like for you! I say, embarrass her as much as you can, call her what you called her when she was little (I call mine "pumpkin pie" and "the mush") :) She's going to be tormenting you for the next few years, you go ahead and torment her first! :)

Gorgeous cake, too! I'll be excited to see what you make for your daughter!!

2. The quotes are great. My oldest is 10, but we've had a preview of life with teenagers thanks to two teenage foster daughters. (Not a fair representation, I don't think, considering the one came to us from the police station post a high-speed car chase through town, but I may be wrong...)

Happy Birthday to your daughter. My 2 older sons are in their early 20's. I've got lots of grays from their teen years! My youngest is 10 so I have a few more years till the craziness sets in! The cake looks so good...I would love to make this sometime and I'm going to bookmark it!!!

Hmmm I think Moms need that cake more than their daughters however what do I know about daughters anyway? I do have 13 yr old boys twins to share... or a 16yr old not yet barreled up (God I love that last one!!)

13! I'm sure she's thrilled to call herself a teenager! I remember that day - and with it came the countdown to my LICENSE. But now that I'm a mother I realize it's not polite to talk about your babies driving. Egads.

Lynn, I sort of feel something like that, because of my little sister - I looked after her as a baby and now she's 16 and all grown up... I sometimes pinch myself 'cause it is hard to believe she's an adult now! :D

Hi there, I have enjoyed your blog. I am not a baker but looking at your postings makes me excited to try. So I tried my hand at the Triple Chocolate cake...I had a problem with the mousse. First time I made butter the second time I don't think I mixed long enough to make the stiff peak. How will I know the right consistency? keep up the good work. Lots of inspiration.